The Perfect Writing Moment

I make so many excuses when it comes to writing. I’m too tired, I’m too busy, I’ll write when I have the perfect moment.

I will write later. I always make this promise to myself. I always feel there will be a better moment somewhere in the near future, where the quality of writing produced will be so much better than what I could write in this current moment. Rather than seizing the moment that I have now, I choose to wait for the elusive perfect moment.

It never comes.

I also feel I have to have a perfect writing space. If I have that perfect space, inspiration will come. Years ago, my husband and I took a vacation to a beautiful mountain cabin, with a breathtaking panoramic view of the Blue Ridge. I curled up in the window seat with a steaming cup of coffee and wrote for hours. I compare any writing space to that perfect place.

At home, I have a cozy chair in a room painted in my favorite color. It’s filled with paintings that I made to remind me of my creative soul. It’s a beautiful space. I used to write there. I have let that room and that chair become cluttered and I make the excuse that there is no quiet place that I can go to write. Like I can’t pick up the crumpled receipts and scribbled music staff paper and stack of books that I’ve read but haven’t put away.

Another day ends and I yet again have not done one of the things that make my heart whole.

What is wrong with me? Why so many excuses?

There is no perfect moment. There is no perfect space. Don’t wait for things to get better.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Philippians 4:12:

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”

I’m learning how to apply that verse to my writing life. I need to learn how to use the time I’m given, whether hours on end or a few stolen moments. I need to learn to write in any space, whether it involves a beautiful view out my window or a blank wall.

Grab a napkin and pen in that cluttered car on your lunch break. Capture that phrase, those beautiful words. Create that writing space, even if it’s just a folding chair, a scented candle, and a picture of a waterfall hanging on a dusty wall. Make that writing routine. Write even if you feel that there might be a better moment later. Stop waiting for that perfect moment.

The moment you’re in? That’s the perfect moment.

QUESTION: What is your typical perfect writing moment?